Review | The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln

Title: The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter

Date Published: July 10, 2012

Dates Read: February 3-15, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 3.69/5

I picked up this book because my dad is a history nerd and some of that rubbed off on me so I've always found stories with 'What if...' history fascinating. This book has been sitting on my bedside table since mid-January, but I happened to pick it up around the time the second impeachment trial began and it created a real world connection I wasn't quite mentally prepared for. Now before I get hate mail I just want to say I am absolutely NOT comparing the fictional impeachment trial of Abraham Lincoln to the trial of the twice impeached former internet influencer, but I can't deny that I learned something about the modern day trial from the novelized version.

Ok, what happens? Abraham Lincoln has survived the attempt against his life, but now his political career has to survive his impending impeachment trial. Abigail Canner, a young, black woman, fresh from graduation from Oberlin College and full of ambition to become a lawyer, joins the law firm who has been hired to defend Lincoln. Because of the prejudices against her race and her sex, Abigail has to fight hard to be a valued member of the team. Things are already dire during preparation, but becomes incredibly more so when one of the two main lawyers is murdered with another woman in front of a brothel. Now the team no longer has to defend Abraham Lincoln in court, but they also have to work on uncovering a conspiracy that runs deep within the Washington elite.

Ok, what did I think? Like I said, I read this book while the second impeachment trials were underway and I found that the context of The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln helped me understand the process unfolding in real time and in the real world. I will be honest with you, sometimes the judiciary jargon spins my head around a little. There's a reason why lawyers are in school for years and end up graduating in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and why I only went to school for four years and decided my expensive piece of paper called a Bachelor's degree was enough. However, despite that, I feel that Carter does a great job catering to the audience members like me without dumbing it down so much that it's almost offensive.

The book is split into two parts: the preparation and the trial, but the story is continuous throughout. While a majority of the story focuses on Abigail's point of view it also bounces to the other clerk within the law firm, Johnathan Hilliman. Despite being wildly different stories and genres, it was easy to make a connection with the last book I had read, The Wedding Date. In both books the white, male character comes face to face with his own privilege. In this particular instance, Jonathan has to walk the thin line between what is deemed as 'proper' in that time and what is right. There are several instances where he risks his reputation and his life to help Abigail uncover more clues as to who murdered one of the partners of the firm.

I've read several of the other reviews about The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln and many of them say that the second part is more interesting than the first, and I have to agree with them. While the first part does set up the rest of the book, the second part is really where the story gets interesting. Not only do we get front row seats to the impeachment trial of one of the most famous presidents, but we also are with Abigail every step of the way as she works to uncover a conspiracy within Washington D.C. which - you know - is completely unheard of.

Like I said earlier, some of the jargon did go over my head and occasionally I'd find myself skimming over small passages simply because it was the flowery language that we've seen in many lawyer shows and it was just hard to follow. However, it didn't pull me out of the story too much so I don't really see it as that much of a negative point to Carter's book.

On Goodreads the opening sentence in the summary of this book reads:

"[The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln] is a daring reimagining of one of the most tumultuous moments in our nation's past."

And, especially since I read it during the most tumultuous moment in our nation's present, I would highly recommend checking this book out.

Long Story Short:

• History is cool

• Washington D.C. is sketchy af

• Man, what would today look like if this book were reality?

My Rating: 3/5